tag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:/newsAdvanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics // Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics2016-08-29T09:00:00-04:00AdvancedDiagnosticsAndTherapeutics/Newshttps://feedburner.google.comtag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/692402016-08-29T09:00:00-04:002016-08-29T09:39:54-04:00Blue-sky biomedical projects launched by new funding<h3>Innovative research includes efforts to treat Parkinson&#8217;s disease, understand heart disease and strokes, tackle bacterial drug resistance</h3>
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<p><a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> (AD&amp;T), a strategic research initiative at the <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a>&#8230;</p><h3>Innovative research includes efforts to treat Parkinson’s disease, understand heart disease and strokes, tackle bacterial drug resistance</h3>
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<p class="image-right"><img alt="Blueskyresearch" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/208784/blueskyresearch.png"></p>
<p><a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> (AD&amp;T), a strategic research initiative at the <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a>, has announced the recipients of its Discovery Fund awards for 2016. Each year, these awards are given to scientists and engineers who propose novel technologies that can improve human and environmental health.</p>
<p>“We fund researchers who have exciting, sometimes risky ideas but need assistance to kick-start their investigations and collect preliminary data,” explained <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/paul-bohn/">Paul Bohn</a>, AD&amp;T’s director. “There’s also a focus on selecting projects that have a recognizable path to becoming high-impact, marketable products.”</p>
<p>“Previous projects supported by AD&amp;T include a new 3D tumor imaging platform for pathologists and an process for fabricating nanoparticles for targeted drug discovery, which has already been licensed” added <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/aaron-timperman/">Aaron Timperman</a>, associate director for research. “This year’s projects show the same exciting promise.”</p>
<p>Project teams are led by Notre Dame faculty and, this year, include collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, Florida International University’s Wertheim School of Medicine, and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.</p>
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<p>The 2016 AD&amp;T Discovery Fund awardees are:</p>
<p><strong>Magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENs) for minimally-invasive deep brain stimulation in a Parkinsonian mouse model</strong><br>
Over the past decade, a great deal of research has looked at using non-invasive brain stimulation as a lasting treatment for Parkinson’s disease, but the technique has several drawbacks. The intent of this study is to assess the feasibility of injecting magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENs) as a neurostimulatory enhancement technology. It is hoped that decoding the information from neuromodulation signals generated by MENs in Parkinson’s disease models will increase our fundamental understanding of the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. <em>Principal investigators: Tiffanie Stewart, Gary Bernstein, Sakhrat Khizroev, Mayland Chang, Chad Bouton, Theodoros Zanos</em></p>
<p><strong>3D non-destructive optical imaging of patient-derived thrombi</strong><br>
Excessive clotting under disease conditions is deadly; it contributes to coronary heart disease, the number one killer in developed countries, and stroke, the second foremost cause of disability. Though they are three-dimensional, the structures of blood clots (or thrombi, when they form in veins) are currently pieced together from two-dimensional images, which limits the ability of researchers and physicians to see the interior of clots and understand them as a whole. The purpose of this project is to render blood clots optically transparent while maintaining their structure. Such clot transparency allows the scientists and physicians to obtain 3D images of clots that have fluorescently labeled clot components at cellular resolution. <em>Principal investigators: Jeremiah Zartman, John Weisel, Holly Goodson, Mark Alber</em></p>
<p><strong>An organ-on-a-chip with real-time miRNA monitoring</strong><br>
This interdisciplinary project brings together expertise from tissue engineering, stem cell research, nanobiosensors, and microfluidics to facilitate research on acute myocardial infarction (MI), a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Researchers have discovered circulating microRNA (miRNA) are potential biomarkers for early assessment of MI and other cardiovascular diseases, but animal models often fail to predict responses in humans and human subjects do not allow for the precise control needed to study biomarker expression. The aim of this research is to design a physiologically relevant on-chip cardiac model with a real time biosensor to monitor fluctuations in miRNA biomarkers in human cardiac cells during distressed states. Not only will such a chip aid in cardiac research, it has the potential to provide better information about fluctuations among different populations and allow for better personalized diagnostics. <em>Principal investigators: Pinar Zorlutuna, Satyajyoti Senapati, Hsueh-Chia Chang</em></p>
<p><strong>Development of a Tunable Attribute Precision Screening (TAPS) antimicrobial assessment platform</strong><br>
In light of the growing global problem of bacterial drug resistance, there is a clear need to develop treatments against pathogenic bacteria in a more targeted manner to improve outcomes and limit side-effects. But current strategies used to probe for antibiotic activity are highly inefficient at screening for compounds that limit bacterial function under relevant pathogenic conditions. In answer, this project aims to develop further a patent-pending Tunable Attribute Precision Screening (TAPS) antimicrobial assessment platform for evaluating antimicrobial activity of chemical libraries under conditions that are actually relevant to the bacterial infection of interest. The approach will include development of a new microfluidic system that can assess multiple scenarios by creating a vast number of well-defined growth environments, which will be used to research bacterial behavior and antimicrobial action with precise detail.<em> Principal investigators: Joshua Shrout, Shaun Lee, Aaron Timperman</em></p>
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<p>For more information about the research supported by AD&amp;T’s Discovery Fund, please contact the listed principal investigators, or Arnie Phifer at (574) 631-3057 or aphifer@nd.edu.</p>
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<p><em>The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Notre Dame faculty, students, and staff engage in research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to advance human understanding and do good in the world.</em></p>Arnie Phifertag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/689772016-08-22T10:00:00-04:002016-08-22T10:40:56-04:00Notre Dame students on the front lines of medical research<h4><em>New fellowships enable summer research at New York&#8217;s largest health system</em></h4>
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<p>Two Notre Dame undergraduate students&#8212;Anne Grisoli and Richard Felli&#8212;and two graduate students&#8212;Katelyn Ludwig and Steve Marczak&#8212;spent the summer of 2016 conducting laboratory and clinical research at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York. All four are recipients of the inaugural <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/opportunities/precision-medicine-research-fellowships/">Precision Medicine Research Fellowships</a>&#8230;</p><h4><em>New fellowships enable summer research at New York’s largest health system</em></h4>
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<p class="image-right"><img alt="Felli" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/207941/felli.jpg"></p>
<p>Two Notre Dame undergraduate students—Anne Grisoli and Richard Felli—and two graduate students—Katelyn Ludwig and Steve Marczak—spent the summer of 2016 conducting laboratory and clinical research at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York. All four are recipients of the inaugural <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/opportunities/precision-medicine-research-fellowships/">Precision Medicine Research Fellowships</a>, which enable highly qualified Notre Dame students to live and work at one of the premier clinical research facilities on the East Coast.</p>
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<p>The <a href="http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/">Feinstein Institute</a>, which is part of the 22-hospital Northwell Health System, enrolls over 15,000 patients in more than 2,000 clinical studies each year. Through this new competitive program, students from Notre Dame who are interested in biomedical research have an unparalleled opportunity to experience such research first-hand and contribute to finding real solutions to pressing medical problems, ranging from lupus to sepsis to cardiac arrest.</p>
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<p>“My research at the Feinstein Institute has been an absolutely incredible experience,” said Grisoli, who worked on neuroscience and immunology related projects in the lab of the institute’s president. “Dr. Tracey's lab is a very inspiring, engaging, and collaborative environment, and the number of lab techniques and procedures I learned is shocking.”</p>
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<p>Felli, who developed implants to study the effects of sepsis on the brain, added that "the work that is done at Feinstein is required to have relevance to the medical field. No matter whether you plan to become a doctor or a researcher, the program is a great experience."</p>
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<p class="image-left"><img alt="Grisoli" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/207942/grisoli.jpg"></p>
<p>The four Notre Dame students also had the opportunity to interact with over 100 students from other universities and medical schools, and they used the institute’s location on Long Island as a base for frequent trips into New York City.</p>
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<p>The Precision Medicine Research Fellowships are a program of Notre Dame’s <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> (AD&amp;T) initiative. They include a monthly stipend, reimbursement of travel costs, and housing. They are also one component of AD&amp;T’s program in <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/">Precision Medicine</a>, and its expanding network of clinical collaborators.</p>
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<p>For more information about the AD&amp;T’s Precision Medicine Research Fellowships, please contact Arnie Phifer at (574) 631-3057 or aphifer@nd.edu.</p>
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<p><em>The <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.nd.edu/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1471962843930000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFXfA5YwBzQ4Fvs_ZAdGqojUz-vyA" href="https://www.nd.edu/" target="_blank">University of Notre Dame</a> is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Notre Dame faculty, students, and staff engage in research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to advance human understanding and do good in the world.</em></p>Arnie Phifertag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/681512016-07-06T11:00:00-04:002016-07-06T11:39:02-04:00Notre Dame graduate students awarded fellowships for tackling diseases such as malaria and cystic fibrosis<p>Two Notre Dame graduate students, Nameera Baig and Nur Mustafaoglu, have been awarded the 2016 Berry Family Foundation Graduate Fellowships in Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics for their innovative research in tracking and treating disease.</p>
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<p>Baig, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is working to understand biofilms of the pathogenic bacterium <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em>&#8230;</p><p>Two Notre Dame graduate students, Nameera Baig and Nur Mustafaoglu, have been awarded the 2016 Berry Family Foundation Graduate Fellowships in Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics for their innovative research in tracking and treating disease.</p>
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<p>Baig, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is working to understand biofilms of the pathogenic bacterium <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em>. Biofilms are formed when bacteria aggregate together and cover themselves in a protective coating, making them resistant both to the body’s natural defenses and medical treatments. The biofilms associated with <em>P. aeruginosa</em> are known to cause persistent and chronic infections in immune-compromised patients afflicted with diseases such as cystic fibrosis and HIV AIDS, often leading to a high rate of mortality and morbidity. The goal of Baig and her collaborators at Notre Dame and the University of Illinois is to use a powerful imaging platform to study the formation and growth of these biofilm communities at the molecular level, which is key to understanding their progression, virulence, and antibiotic resistance.</p>
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<p class="image-right"><img alt="Mustafaoglu" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/203734/mustafaoglu.jpg"></p>
<p>Mustafaoglu, a PhD candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, designs and fabricates extremely small particles, known as “antibody functionalized nanoparticles,” that have, in recent years, been adapted to a wide range of biomedical applications. In this case, Mustafaoglu aims to use these products of advanced bioengineering to tackle a world-wide problem: the early and accurate detection of malaria. The new diagnostic technologies she is developing take advantage of the fact that the nanoparticles can be designed in a way that allows them to bind with proteins from the microorganism that causes malaria, if and it is present. This approach may lead to low-cost, efficient, and rapid detection and surveillance methods that can be used in resource-poor areas.</p>
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<p>“We are happy to be supporting the work of these outstanding young scientists,” said Paul Bohn, director of the <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> initiative, “which could lead to new diagnostic tools and treatments for a range of harmful and costly diseases.”</p>
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<p>“We are also grateful to the Berry Family Foundation for their continued commitment to research at Notre Dame,” he added.</p>
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<p>The Berry Family Foundation Graduate Fellowships include a full year of graduate stipend support and valuable opportunities to collaborate with clinical partners through AD&amp;T’s <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/">Precision Medicine</a> program.</p>
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<p><em>For more information, please contact Arnie Phifer at 574-631-3057 or <a href="mailto:aphifer@nd.edu">aphifer@nd.edu</a>.</em></p>Arnie Phifertag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/672062016-05-19T10:00:00-04:002016-07-27T09:07:49-04:00AD&T-supported researchers improve drug delivery, spur commercial activity<p class="image-right"><img alt="Bilgicer Kiziltepe Sm" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/199944/bilgicer_kiziltepe_sm.png" title="Bilgicer Kiziltepe Sm"></p>
<p>A new cancer fighting technology developed by <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/bbilgicer">Basar Bilgicer</a> and <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/tkiziltepe">Tanyel Kiziltepe</a>, two professors with deep ties to the University of Notre Dame&#8217;s <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics (AD&amp;T) initiative</a>&#8230;</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="Bilgicer Kiziltepe Sm" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/199944/bilgicer_kiziltepe_sm.png" title="Bilgicer Kiziltepe Sm"></p>
<p>A new cancer fighting technology developed by <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/bbilgicer">Basar Bilgicer</a> and <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/tkiziltepe">Tanyel Kiziltepe</a>, two professors with deep ties to the University of Notre Dame’s <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics (AD&amp;T) initiative</a>, is making a rapid and exciting transition to a real-world, commercialized product—one that could increase the effectiveness of cancer medications while lessening their toxic effects and improving patients’ quality of life.</p>
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<p>The <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu">Precision Medicine</a> technology is centered on ligand-targeted liposomes (LTLs), tiny bubble-like particles made from a phospholipid bilayer—the same molecules that comprise cell membranes. Using a new technique developed my Bilgicer, Kiziltepe, and others, the liposomes made by the team are much more consistent compared to the industry standard. This innovative format allows the components to be carefully incorporated during liposome synthesis and, in turn, drastically increases uniformity, which has been a major obstacle to the use of LTLs in personalized healthcare.</p>
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<p>Speaking about the research, Bilgicer explained, “Liposomal nanoparticles work by penetrating the gaps that the vasculature around the tumor tissue has, delivering cancer medication selectively to the cancer cells, and leaving healthy tissue unharmed.”</p>
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<p>“In addition to this selective delivery to a tumor, liposomal nanoparticles also include targeting molecules and stealth coating in their design for more efficient tumor targeting, while staying undetectable to the body’s natural defense mechanism, the immune system.”</p>
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<p>“The ability to control the design and fabrication of LTLs to this degree opens up new possibilities for the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics,” added Kiziltepe, who has served as a research assistant professor in AD&amp;T for the past seven years. “It could be especially attractive to pharmaceutical companies who want to create nanoparticle formulations of struggling or patent-expiring drugs.”</p>
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<p>The new approach has been licensed by Omaha-based start-up company <a href="https://twitter.com/certus_lypos">Certus Therapeutics</a> and is being marketed as a nanoparticle drug delivery platform known as Lypos. As validation of the technology’s commercial potential, <a href="http://news.nd.edu/news/66420-cancer-treatment-system-wins-2016-mccloskey-business-plan-competition/">Certus recently won the grand prize at Notre Dame’s 2016 McCloskey Business Plan Competition</a>.</p>
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<p>Both Bilgicer and Kiziltepe are natives of Turkey who came to AD&amp;T and Notre Dame’s <a href="https://cbe.nd.edu/">Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering</a> via Harvard and MIT, respectively.</p>
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<p>“Basar and Tanyel have been with us almost from the beginning,” says Paul Bohn, AD&amp;T’s director, “and have contributed significantly the university’s biomedical research community. We’re thrilled about where this current work is going and the benefit it could have for patients around the world.”</p>Arnie Phifertag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/664592016-04-25T10:00:00-04:002016-04-25T11:06:02-04:00Notre Dame students to conduct clinical research in New York<p class="image-right"><img alt="Jobs And Internships" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/197699/jobs_and_internships.jpg" title="Jobs And Internships"></p>
<p>For the first time ever, two Notre Dame undergraduate students&#8212;Anne Grisoli and Richard Felli&#8212;and two graduate students&#8212;Katelyn Ludwig and Steve Marczak&#8212;will spend the summer conducting laboratory and clinical research at the <a href="http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/">Feinstein Institute for Medical Research</a>&#8230;</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="Jobs And Internships" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/197699/jobs_and_internships.jpg" title="Jobs And Internships"></p>
<p>For the first time ever, two Notre Dame undergraduate students—Anne Grisoli and Richard Felli—and two graduate students—Katelyn Ludwig and Steve Marczak—will spend the summer conducting laboratory and clinical research at the <a href="http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/">Feinstein Institute for Medical Research</a> in New York. All four are recipients of the inaugural Precision Medicine Research Fellowships, which enable Notre Dame students to live and work at one of the premier clinical research facilities on the East Coast.</p>
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<p>The Feinstein Institute, which is part of the 22-hospital Northwell Health System, enrolls over 15,000 patients in more than 2,000 clinical studies each year. Through this new program, the institute offers students from Notre Dame who are interested in biomedical research an unparalleled opportunity to experience such research first-hand and to contribute to finding real solutions to pressing medical problems, ranging from lupus to sepsis to cardiac arrest.</p>
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<p>The Precision Medicine Research Fellowships are a program of Notre Dame’s <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> (AD&amp;T) initiative. They include a monthly stipend, reimbursement of travel costs, and housing (provided cost-free by the Feinstein Institute). They are also one component of AD&amp;T’s program in <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/">Precision Medicine</a> and its expanding network of clinical collaborators.</p>Arnie Phifertag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/659722016-04-07T05:00:00-04:002016-04-07T05:43:51-04:00Video: Fast-Growing Molecular Research Group at Notre Dame Targets Birth Defects and Other Serious Health Problems<p class="image-left"><img alt="paulb2" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/193364/250x250/paulb2.jpg" title="paulb2" /></p>
<p>At the University of Notre Dame, the Departments of <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/">Chemistry &amp; Biochemistry</a> and <a href="http://cbe.nd.edu/">Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering</a>, as well as related programs in <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> and <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/">Precision Medicine</a>, have come together to build one of the fastest-growing analytical science and engineering programs in the country.</p><p>At the University of Notre Dame, the Departments of <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/">Chemistry &amp; Biochemistry</a> and <a href="http://cbe.nd.edu/">Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering</a>, as well as related programs in <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics</a> and <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/">Precision Medicine</a>, have come together to build one of the fastest-growing analytical science and engineering programs in the country. Together, these Notre Dame researchers are collaborating as a wider group, known as ASEND, on innovative molecular research and the discovery and design of new technologies to combat disease, promote health, and safeguard the environment.</p>
<p>Speaking about ASEND, including its dynamic – and continuing – growth path that is distinct in the field, <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/pbohn">Paul Bohn</a>, Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, said, “Throughout my career I often wondered how I would construct a program if doing it from the ground up. Well, here at Notre Dame we have had the opportunity to do just this in analytical sciences and engineering.” Bohn continued, “By bringing together important intellectual drivers in the fields of biology, chemical engineering, chemistry, and electrical engineering with partnerships that span other academic institutions, like Indiana University and Purdue University, as well as corporate partners, such as Eli Lilly and Co., Notre Dame is actively changing the way our faculty work across traditional disciplinary lines in order to create an organic growth path for our researchers and to help solve some of the most serious health and environmental concerns that our world faces today.”</p>
<p>Bohn talks about some of the research projects that are underway within ASEND alongside his colleagues <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/norman-dovichi/">Norman Dovichi</a>, Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry &amp; Biochemistry, <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/dgo">David Go</a>, Associate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/amanda-b-hummon/">Amanda Hummon</a>, Huisking Foundation, Inc. Associate Professor of Chemistry &amp; Biochemistry, in a new video.</p>
<p>To watch the video, which is part of the Advancing Research series, and learn more about ASEND at Notre Dame, please click <a href="https://youtu.be/yBpRw_moqjs">here</a>.</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yBpRw_moqjs" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nd.edu/">University of Notre Dame</a> is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in <a href="http://www.southbendin.gov/">South Bend, Indiana</a>, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Joanne Fahey at <a href="http://research.nd.edu/news/65112-video-fast-growing-molecular-research-group-at-notre-dame-targets-birth-defects-and-other-serious-health-problems/">research.nd.edu</a> on March 04, 2016.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Joanne Fahey at <a href="http://science.nd.edu/news/65411-video-fast-growing-molecular-research-group-at-notre-dame-targets-birth-defects-and-other-serious-health-problems/">research.nd.edu</a> on March 04, 2016.</p>Joanne Faheytag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/650662016-03-03T11:05:00-05:002016-03-03T11:05:13-05:00Notre Dame Researchers to Participate, Speak at 2016 PittCon<p>Researchers from the University of Notre Dame will participate in the 2016 PittCon Conference and Expo, the world&#8217;s largest annual premier conference on laboratory science.</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="The 2016 PittCon Conference and Expo" src="http://research.nd.edu/assets/192303/pittcon2016.jpg" title="The 2016 PittCon Conference and Expo"></p>
<p>Throughout the weeklong event, attending Notre Dame entities, including <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics</a>&#8230;</p><p>Researchers from the University of Notre Dame will participate in the 2016 PittCon Conference and Expo, the world’s largest annual premier conference on laboratory science.</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="The 2016 PittCon Conference and Expo" src="http://research.nd.edu/assets/192303/pittcon2016.jpg" title="The 2016 PittCon Conference and Expo"></p>
<p>Throughout the weeklong event, attending Notre Dame entities, including <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/">Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics</a>, <a href="http://nano.nd.edu/">NDnano</a>, the <a href="http://mcf.nd.edu/">Materials Characterization Facility</a>, as well as <a href="http://ott.nd.edu/">Technology Transfer</a> will share with the more than 16,000 attendees from industry, academia, and government what is new in research at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“It’s an exciting time for Notre Dame to be at PittCon due to the significant growth in, and successes for, research and innovation taking place at the University,” said Richard Cox, director of Technology Transfer. “This event gives us the opportunity to share these developments and network with so many other groups along the way.”</p>
<p>Several University faculty will showcase their research through symposia at PittCon. <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/amanda-b-hummon/">Amanda B. Hummon</a>, Huisking Foundation, Inc. Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/zachary-schultz/">Zachary Schultz</a>, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will both lead symposia that include presentations by faculty members from Northwestern University, Purdue University, the University of Minnesota, and more.</p>
<p>Speaking about her PittCon presentation, Hummon said, “Notre Dame has a dynamic team of researchers dedicated to solving some of the greatest healthcare challenges of our generation, including cancer, sepsis, and more. I am honored to be sharing some of my contributions to this research with PittCon attendees by presenting the cutting-edge research taking place at Notre Dame on colorectal cancer alongside Professor Heather Desaire from the University of Kansas, who is presenting her work on HIV vaccines, and Professor Rena Robinson from the University of Pittsburgh, who will present her studies on the biomarkers of sepsis.”</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/paul-bohn/">Paul Bohn</a>, Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/norman-dovichi/">Norman Dovichi</a>, Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; and <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/jon-camden/">Jon Camden</a>, associate professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry will also present at symposia hosted by various researchers.</p>
<p>Camden will specifically be speaking about his team’s work on field deployable ultrasensitive detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering, or SERS, which have applications in both nuclear forensics and environmental contaminants. His research shows that there is a capability of SERS-based analysis to be used for affordable, on-site detection.</p>
<p>“One environmental contaminant that can be detected through this process is hydrazine,” said Camden. “Hydrazine is a colorless flammable liquid that is highly toxic and dangerously unstable. Through SERS based analysis, detection requires less than 15 minutes and the cost of materials per sample analysis is less than $0.01.”</p>
<p>Additionally, more than 10 graduate students from the <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/">Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry</a> will participate in poster or oral presentations throughout the week.</p>
<p>PittCon 2016 begins March 6, 2016 and will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. If you would like to learn more about the many events taking place at PittCon, please visit <a href="http://pittcon.org/">pittcon.org</a>. For a full list of University of Notre Dame participants by activity please see below:</p>
<p><strong>Exhibitors:</strong><br>
• Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics<br>
• NDnano<br>
• Materials Characterization Facility<br>
• Tech Transfer<br>
• Corporate Relations</p>
<p><strong>Faculty Symposium Participants:</strong><br>
• Paul Bohn, Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry<br>
• Jon Camden, associate professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry<br>
• Norman Dovichi, Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry<br>
• Amanda B. Hummon, Huisking Foundation, Inc. Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry<br>
• Zachary Schultz, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry</p>
<p><strong>Ralph N. Adams Award Presenter:</strong><br>
• Norman Dovichi, Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry</p>
<p><strong>Poster and Oral Presentation Participants:</strong><br>
• Emily A. Amenson, Graduate Student<br>
• Jennifer Arceo, Graduate Student<br>
• Matthew R. Bailey, Graduate Student<br>
• Ju-Young Kim, Graduate Student<br>
• Darby Nelson, Graduate Student<br>
• Anh H Nguyen, Graduate Student<br>
• Elizabeth H. Peuchen, Graduate Student<br>
• Andrew W. Schmudlach, Graduate Student<br>
• Hao Wang, Graduate Student<br>
• Lifu Xiao, Post-Doctoral Fellow</p>
<p><em>Contact</em><br>
Brandi R. Klingerman / Communications Specialist<br>
Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame<br>
bklinger@nd.edu / 574.631.8183<br>
<a href="http://research.nd.edu/">research.ed.edu</a> /<a href="https://twitter.com/UNDResearch">@UNDResearch</a></p>
<p><em>About Notre Dame Research</em><br>
The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in South Bend, Indiana, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world. For more information, please see <a href="http://research.nd.edu/">research.nd.edu</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/UNDResearch">@UNDResearch</a>.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Brandi Klingerman at <a href="http://research.nd.edu/news/65063-notre-dame-researchers-to-participate-speak-at-2016-pittcon/">research.nd.edu</a> on March 03, 2016.</p>Brandi Klingermantag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/650122016-03-01T14:00:00-05:002016-03-01T14:34:54-05:00Bohn appointed co-editor of Annual Reviews of Analytical Chemistry<p class="image-left"><img alt="bohn_square" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/191736/bohn_square.jpg" title="bohn_square" /></p>
<p>Paul W. Bohn, the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and concurrent professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been appointed to the editorship of <em>Annual Reviews of Analytical Chemistry</em>, the most highly cited publication in the field. Bohn, who has served four years on the journal&rsquo;s international board, will serve a four-year term as co-editor.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="bohn_square" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/191736/bohn_square.jpg" title="bohn_square"></p>
<p>Paul W. Bohn, the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and concurrent professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been appointed to the editorship of <em>Annual Reviews of Analytical Chemistry</em>, the most highly cited publication in the field. Bohn, who has served four years on the journal’s international board, will serve a four-year term as co-editor.</p>
<p>The journal, founded in 2008, publishes 20 to 25 invited reviews a year. “It’s extremely influential in the field in terms of setting the research agenda and outlining the most important contemporary problems in chemical measurement science,” Bohn says, adding that the longstanding field has evolved rapidly in recent years. “It’s a very different enterprise now than it was 10-15 years ago.”</p>
<p><em>Annual Reviews of Analytical Chemistry</em> helps researchers keep up with leading developments. For example, recent articles have explained advances in proteomics, the protein-based counterpart to genomics that calls for measurements of protein inventory and activity at different stages in the cell’s cycle and in healthy as well as diseased individuals.</p>
<p>Bohn, who came to Notre Dame nine years ago after 23 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, conducts research in the areas of chemical analysis, materials chemistry, and molecular technology. He is also director of the Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics initiative and the Initiative for Precision Medicine. </p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Gene Stowe at <a href="http://science.nd.edu/news/64868-bohn-appointed-co-editor-of-annual-reviews-of-analytical-chemistry/">science.nd.edu</a> on February 25, 2016.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Gene Stowe at <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/news/64983-bohn-appointed-co-editor-of-annual-reviews-of-analytical-chemistry/">research.nd.edu</a> on February 26, 2016.</p>Gene Stowetag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/649052016-02-26T10:00:00-05:002016-02-26T10:55:56-05:00A Researcher's Take on White House PMI Summit<p class="image-right"><img alt="pmilogo_blog" src="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/assets/191829/pmilogo_blog.jpg" title="pmilogo_blog"></p>
<p>The announcement from the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/02/25/precision-medicine-health-care-tailored-you">White House&#8217;s Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Summit</a> marks a brighter future for patient care globally. However, we should anticipate that recent advances in precision medicine simply begin our journey down a road that will take time and resolve to complete. From a physiological standpoint humans are very complicated systems and our individual differences have a great impact on our susceptibility to different illnesses and diseases.&#8230;</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="pmilogo_blog" src="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/assets/191829/pmilogo_blog.jpg" title="pmilogo_blog"></p>
<p>The announcement from the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/02/25/precision-medicine-health-care-tailored-you">White House’s Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Summit</a> marks a brighter future for patient care globally. However, we should anticipate that recent advances in precision medicine simply begin our journey down a road that will take time and resolve to complete. From a physiological standpoint humans are very complicated systems and our individual differences have a great impact on our susceptibility to different illnesses and diseases.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Currently, much of precision medicine is based on genomics, because the nucleic acids that make up genes are relatively easy to manipulate and decipher. But sequencing genes only provides us with a list of possible proteins that an organism can make, much like having a materials list in home building without a plan of how things work together and interact. One could end up with a house where the air conditioning and heating run at the same time, or the gas furnace is vented into the house with the carbon monoxide detectors on the exterior.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Similarly, while we can identify some diseases from genomics—generally those that are the result of broken or missing parts—there are many that we simply cannot diagnosis or understand fully with genomics alone. As further progress is made, and the tools for analysis of the other cellular components (including proteins and metabolites) improve, we will gain a better understanding of cellular function and dysfunction and can anticipate more treatments that are tailored for the natural differences in people.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This more holistic approach is critical to understanding the chemical and physical processes that control illness and disease, and it will be required if we are to realize the goals outlined in Washington.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Aaron Timperman is Associate Director-Research at the University of Notre Dame's Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics initiative, including its Precision Medicine Program, and Concurrent Professor of Chemistry &amp; Biochemistry. He is a former Professor of Chemistry at West Virginia University and Research Chemist at the US Army Corps of Engineer’s Engineering Research and Development Center.</em></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Aaron Timperman at <a href="http://precisionmedicine.nd.edu/news/64904-a-researchers-take-on-white-house-pmi-summit/">precisionmedicine.nd.edu</a> on February 26, 2016.</p>Aaron Timpermantag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/648362016-02-24T14:00:00-05:002016-02-24T14:53:40-05:00Students Pitch Nanoparticle Research at Business Plan Competition<p>Graduate students from the University of Notre Dame competed as the group Certus Therapeutics, Inc. (Certus) in the <a href="http://business.louisville.edu/cardinalchallenge/">2016 Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge at the University of Louisville</a> on February 13, 2016. The competition showcases new business concepts presented by MBA and graduate students from &#8220;12 of the world&#8217;s leading entrepreneurship programs."&#8230;</p><p>Graduate students from the University of Notre Dame competed as the group Certus Therapeutics, Inc. (Certus) in the <a href="http://business.louisville.edu/cardinalchallenge/">2016 Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge at the University of Louisville</a> on February 13, 2016. The competition showcases new business concepts presented by MBA and graduate students from “12 of the world’s leading entrepreneurship programs."</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="cardinalchallengelogo" src="http://research.nd.edu/assets/191377/cardinalchallengelogo.png" title="cardinalchallengelogo"></p>
<p>Members of Certus include:</p>
<p>• Brittany Butler, M.S. in the Patent Law program, Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences<br>
• Sean Panchal, Mendoza College of Business Executive M.B.A. program<br>
• Charissa Quinlan, Ph.D., Integrated Biomedical Sciences<br>
• Michael Schneider, Mendoza College of Business M.S.A. program<br>
• Kevin Schneider, Mendoza College of Business M.S.A. program<br>
• Rebecca Shute, ESTEEM program</p>
<p>The team presented a business plan for a novel liposome product called Lypos™, which is a nanoparticle drug delivery platform with the potential to target cancer cells, lessen the toxic effect of cancer medications, and increase a patient’s quality of life.</p>
<p>Liposomes are spherical, bubble-like particles made from a phospholipid bilayer – the same molecules that comprise cell membranes. The liposomes developed by lead inventor <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/bbilgicer">Basar Bilgicer, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering</a>, are more consistent compared to previous liposomes due to the technique used to create the nanoparticles. Bilgicer’s innovative format allows the components of Lypos™ to be carefully incorporated during liposome synthesis and, in turn, drastically increases uniformity.</p>
<p>Speaking about his research, Bilgicer explained, “Liposomal nanoparticles work by penetrating the gaps that the vasculature around the tumor tissue has, delivering cancer medication selectively to the cancer cells, and leaving healthy tissue unharmed.”</p>
<p>“In addition to this selective delivery to a tumor,” said Bilgicer, “liposomal nanoparticles also include targeting molecules and stealth coating in their design for more efficient tumor targeting, while staying undetectable to the body’s natural defense mechanism, the immune system. These design features further increase the ability for the nanoparticles to deliver cancer treatments effectively and improve overall patient outcome.”</p>
<p>Certus is advised by <a href="http://ott.nd.edu/contact-us/staff-biographies/">Gaylene Anderson, Senior Innovation Officer for the Cleveland Clinic and Tech Transfer at Notre Dame</a>, where she manages life science inventions that can be used in the healthcare industry. In her role at the University, she discusses potential patents with inventors as well as the best commercialization route for an invention.</p>
<p>In a circumstance where an invention can be a platform for a business venture and an inventor is supportive of the idea, Anderson finds the top entrepreneurial graduate students from a variety of majors to develop a business plan and participate in competitions around the country. These competitions allow business ventures to receive increased visibility from prospective stakeholders while graduate students learn how to create a pitch for investors and generate a start-up company.</p>
<p>To learn more about Certus Therapeutics, Inc. follow them on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Certus_Lypos">@Certus_Lypos</a> or visit <a href="http://ott.nd.edu/">ott.nd.edu</a> to learn more about Tech Transfer at the University of Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Contact</p>
<p>Brandi R. Klingerman / Communications Specialist</p>
<p>Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame</p>
<p>bklinger@nd.edu / 574.631.8183</p>
<p>About Notre Dame Research</p>
<p>The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in South Bend, Indiana, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world. For more information, please see <a href="http://research.nd.edu/">research.nd.edu</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/UNDResearch">@UNDResearch</a>.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Brandi Klingerman at <a href="http://research.nd.edu/news/64769-students-pitch-nanoparticle-research-at-business-plan-competition/">research.nd.edu</a> on February 23, 2016.</p>Brandi Klingermantag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/640922016-01-28T12:00:00-05:002016-01-28T12:28:06-05:00New avenues found for treatment of pathogen behind diseases including fasciitis, toxic shock syndrome<p class="image-right"><img alt="Scanning electron micrograph of red blood cell hemolysis by the Streptolysin S producing Group A Streptococcus. Credit: Shaun Lee, Dustin Higashi" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/188709/200x/shaun_lee_gas.jpg" title="Scanning electron micrograph of red blood cell hemolysis by the Streptolysin S producing Group A Streptococcus. Credit: Shaun Lee, Dustin Higashi" /></p>
<p>One bacterial pathogen is responsible for a range of diseases, from pharyngitis and impetigo to more severe diagnoses such as toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating disease), a serious bacterial skin infection that spreads quickly and kills the body&rsquo;s soft tissue. The pathogen, known as Group A Streptococcus, remains a global health burden with an estimated 700 million cases reported annually, and more than half a million deaths due to severe infections.</p><p class="image-right"><a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/188709/original/shaun_lee_gas.jpg"><img alt="Scanning electron micrograph of red blood cell hemolysis by the Streptolysin S producing Group A Streptococcus. Credit: Shaun Lee, Dustin Higashi" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/188709/300x/shaun_lee_gas.jpg" title="Scanning electron micrograph of red blood cell hemolysis by the Streptolysin S producing Group A Streptococcus. Credit: Shaun Lee, Dustin Higashi"></a> Scanning electron micrograph of red blood cell hemolysis by the Streptolysin S producing Group A Streptococcus. Credit: Shaun Lee, Dustin Higashi</p>
<p>One bacterial pathogen is responsible for a range of diseases, from pharyngitis and impetigo to more severe diagnoses such as toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating disease), a serious bacterial skin infection that spreads quickly and kills the body’s soft tissue. The pathogen, known as Group A Streptococcus, remains a global health burden with an estimated 700 million cases reported annually, and more than half a million deaths due to severe infections.</p>
<p>The ability of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) to induce rapid destruction of red blood cells has been observed for more than a century and remains a clinical hallmark of GAS diagnosis. This destruction is due to the production of a small peptide toxin by GAS known as Streptolysin S (SLS).</p>
<p>Although it has been widely held that SLS exerts its lytic activity — the excessive destruction of red blood cells — through membrane disruption, its exact mode of action has remained unknown.</p>
<p>“Recent molecular studies by our lab and others have demonstrated that SLS is a peptide toxin linked to a broad class of bacterially produced compounds known as bacteriocins,” <a href="http://biology.nd.edu/people/shaun-w-lee/">Shaun Lee</a>, an associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, said. “Many of these related bacteriocins have defined cellular targets and have not been shown to function as general lytic agents of cellular membranes.”</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol20154">new study</a>, Lee’s research group provides the first real-time, high-resolution observation of Group A streptoccocal red cell destruction, also called beta-hemolysis.</p>
<p>“We demonstrate that the long-observed red blood cell hemolysis by SLS is not caused by general destruction of the red blood cell membrane, as has been previously thought, but rather that the action is due to the ability of the SLS toxin to directly target a specific outer membrane protein on the surface of the red blood cell, the major erythrocyte anion exchange protein Band 3.”</p>
<p>Importantly, chemical inhibition of Band 3 function completely blocked the hemolytic activity of SLS, and significantly altered the pathology induced by GAS in an in vivo skin infection model.</p>
<p>“Our studies provide the first mechanistic look into the longstanding question of SLS function and, importantly, open new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of severe GAS disease,” Lee said.</p>
<p>“This was a wonderful collaborative effort led by Dustin Higashi, a senior researcher in my lab, to try to answer the longstanding mystery of how this very powerful toxin known as Streptolysin S lyses red blood cells to contribute to invasive human disease caused by the Group A Streptococcus,” he said.</p>
<p>“Findings critical to the support of our hypothesis were provided by in vivo studies performed at the <a href="http://transgene.nd.edu/">W.M. Keck Center for Transgene Research</a>, under the direction of Francis Castellino and Victoria Ploplis. Using humanized mouse models, Keck scientists Deborah Donahue and Jeff Mayfield demonstrated that by blocking the action of SLS toxin during a GAS infection, the pathology at the site of the infection could be drastically reduced. These findings have tremendous potential for developing novel therapeutics to treat severe diseases caused by Group A Streptococcus.”</p>
<p>The study was supported by an NIH Innovator Grant awarded to Lee and appears in the journal Nature Microbiology. It can be found here: <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol20154">http://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol20154</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact</strong>: Shaun Lee, 574-631-7197, <a href="mailto:lee.310@nd.edu">lee.310@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by William G. Gilroy at <a href="http://news.nd.edu/news/64086-new-avenues-found-for-treatment-of-pathogen-behind-diseases-including-fasciitis-toxic-shock-syndrome/">news.nd.edu</a> on January 28, 2016.</p>William G. Gilroytag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/637432016-01-14T15:00:00-05:002016-01-14T15:00:47-05:00Schultz joining Features Panel of Analytical Chemistry<p class="image-left"><img alt="Zachary Schultz" src="http://chemistry.nd.edu/assets/113047/schultzsquare.jpg" title="Zachary Schultz" /></p>
<p>Zachary Schultz, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has accepted an invitation to join the Features Panel of the journal Analytical Chemistry. This appointment is for a three-year term beginning in 2016.</p><div>
<p class="image-left"><img alt="Zachary Schultz" src="http://chemistry.nd.edu/assets/113047/schultzsquare.jpg" title="Zachary Schultz"></p>
<p>Zachary Schultz, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has accepted an invitation to join the Features Panel of the journal Analytical Chemistry. The Features Panel suggests scientists and topics to be covered in the journal’s Feature, Perspective, and Review articles. This appointment is for a three-year term beginning in 2016, and the members of the panel are selected to complement the expertise of the journal editors. </p>
</div>
<p> </p>
<div> </div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div>Research in the Schultz lab endeavors to develop new instrumentation and methodologies to improve the detection and analysis of molecules in complex samples. Often, these samples are relevant to biomedical research. Using laser spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging modalities such as Raman near-field scanning optical microscopy, identification and quantification of analytes is possible with very high resolution. One area of particular interest in the Schulz lab is utilizing localized surface plasmon resonances in metal nanostructures to enhance the analysis of protein-ligand interactions, which are common drug targets, and to regulate signaling processes in cellular membranes.</div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div> </div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div>Schultz has been on the faculty at Notre Dame since 2009, and he has previously been recognized with the Cottrell Scholar Award (2013) and the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (2008).</div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Rebecca Hicks at <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/news/63556-schultz-joining-features-panel-of-analytical-chemistry/">chemistry.nd.edu</a> on January 06, 2016.</p>Rebecca Hickstag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/628832015-11-30T14:00:00-05:002015-11-30T14:03:04-05:00New finding offers hope for diabetic wound healing<p class="image-left"><img alt="chang" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/183019/chang.gif" title="chang" /></p>
<p>University of Notre Dame researchers have discovered a compound that accelerates diabetic wound healing, which may open the door to new treatment strategies.</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="Mayland Chang" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/152919/maylandchang_300.jpg" title="Mayland Chang"></p>
<p>University of Notre Dame researchers have discovered a compound that accelerates diabetic wound healing, which may open the door to new treatment strategies.Non-healing chronic wounds are a major complication of diabetes, which result in more than 70,000 lower-limb amputations in the United States alone each year. The reasons why diabetic wounds are resistant to healing are not fully understood, and there are limited therapeutic agents that could accelerate or facilitate their repair.</p>
<p>A team of researchers from Notre Dame’s <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu">Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry</a>, led by <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/mayland-chang/">Mayland Chang</a>, previously identified two enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), MMP-8 and MMP-9, in the wounds of diabetic mice. They proposed that the former might play a role in the body’s response to wound healing and the latter was the pathological consequence of the disease with detrimental effects. The researchers used the MMP-9 inhibitor referred to as ND-322, which accelerated wound healing in diabetic mice.</p>
<p>In a new study that appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers report the discovery of a better MMP-9 inhibitor referred to as ND-336.</p>
<p>“ND-336 is a six-fold more potent inhibitor than ND-322 and has 50-fold selectivity towards inhibition of MMP-9 than MMP-8,” Chang said. “In contrast, ND-322 has three-fold selectivity towards inhibition of MMP-9 compared to MMP-8. The current paper compared the efficacy of ND-336 versus ND-322. We found that wounds treated with ND-336 healed significantly faster than those treated with ND-322 because of the better selectivity of ND-336 than ND-322 for inhibition of MMP-9 over MMP-8. In the current paper, we applied the enzyme MMP-8 to wounds of diabetic mice and found accelerated wound healing. We also combined the MMP-9 inhibitor ND-336 and the enzyme MMP-8 and found further acceleration of diabetic wound healing.”</p>
<p>The researchers found that a combination of a selective inhibitor of MMP-9 (a small molecule) and applied MMP-8 (an enzyme) enhanced healing even more, in a strategy that holds considerable promise in healing of diabetic wounds.</p>
<p>“The compound ND-336 has potential as a therapeutic to accelerate or facilitate wound healing in diabetic patients,” Chang said. “Likewise, the enzyme MMP-8 could be used to accelerate/facilitate diabetic wound repair. The combination of a small molecule (ND-336) and the enzyme MMP-8 has the potential to accelerate further diabetic wound repair.”</p>
<p>The researchers are currently recruiting diabetic patients to ascertain the levels of MMP-8 and MMP-9 in their wounds. This study is in collaboration with the <a href="http://www.egh.org/wound">Center for Wound Healing</a> at Elkhart General Hospital.</p>
<p>The PNAS study can be found at <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/11/18/1517847112.abstract">www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/11/18/1517847112.abstract</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact</strong>: Mayland Chang, 574-631-2965, <a href="mailto:mchang@nd.edu">mchang@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by William G. Gilroy at <a href="http://news.nd.edu/news/62766-new-finding-offers-hope-for-diabetic-wound-healing/">news.nd.edu</a> on November 23, 2015.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by William G. Gilroy at <a href="http://science.nd.edu/news/62778-new-finding-offers-hope-for-diabetic-wound-healing/">news.nd.edu</a> on November 23, 2015.</p>William G. Gilroytag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/627072015-11-20T06:00:00-05:002015-11-20T06:57:55-05:00New Notre Dame-Eli Lilly & Co. Faculty Fellowship Program in Drug Discovery Announced<p>Faculty researchers with an interest in the drug discovery process from across the University are invited to apply to spend a period of at least two to three months embedded within the chemistry program at Eli Lilly &amp; Co. in Indianapolis, Indiana.</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="Eli Lilly &amp;amp; Co" src="http://research.nd.edu/assets/182777/lilly_logo.png" title="Eli Lilly &amp;amp; Co">&#8230;</p><p>Faculty researchers with an interest in the drug discovery process from across the University are invited to apply to spend a period of at least two to three months embedded within the chemistry program at Eli Lilly &amp; Co. in Indianapolis, Indiana.</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="Eli Lilly &amp;amp; Co" src="http://research.nd.edu/assets/182777/lilly_logo.png" title="Eli Lilly &amp;amp; Co"></p>
<p>As a visiting scholar, the ND-Lilly Fellow will experience, firsthand, the drug discovery and development process by shadowing a team of Lilly scientists and project managers. Projects will align within areas of Lilly’s current drug discovery interests, including oncology, diabetes, neurodegeneration, autoimmune disorders, and pain. ND-Lilly Fellows will have the opportunity to consult on project-related issues, collaborate with Lilly scientists on research questions, present seminars on topics of mutual interest, and stimulate new connections between Lilly and Notre Dame researchers.</p>
<p>Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis, with the formal program beginning in Summer 2016. For more information on how to apply, please click <a href="http://or.nd.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ND-Lilly-Fellowship-F01.pdf">here.</a></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by Joanne Fahey at <a href="http://research.nd.edu/news/62691-new-notre-dame-eli-lilly-co-faculty-fellowship-program-in-drug-discovery-announced/">research.nd.edu</a> on November 19, 2015.</p>Joanne Faheytag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/625832015-11-16T16:00:00-05:002015-11-16T16:19:30-05:00Scientists detect wasps evolving into new species<p class="image-right"><img alt="Wasp" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/182189/200x/wasp_300.jpg" title="Wasp" /></p>
<p>Scientists have observed three species of wasps evolving into three new species, an intriguing case of rapid evolution in action.</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="Wasp" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/182189/wasp_300.jpg" title="Wasp"></p>
<p>Scientists have observed three species of wasps evolving into three new species, an intriguing case of rapid evolution in action.</p>
<p>Understanding how new species form, a process termed “speciation,” is a central question in biology. Scientists typically study speciation with respect to how populations of a single species diverge to form two distinct species.</p>
<p>However, <a href="http://www3.nd.edu/~ghood/">Glen R. Hood</a>, a doctoral researcher in the lab of <a href="http://federlab.nd.edu/">Jeffrey Feder</a>, a professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Biological Sciences, notes that speciation may not be an isolated process, as the origin of one species could open up new niche opportunities for associated organisms in higher levels of the food chain, leading to the sequential origin of many other new species.</p>
<p>In a new paper, Hood and colleagues from Rice University, the University of Iowa and Michigan State University show that this is true for three species of parasitic wasps attacking Rhagoletis fruit flies, including the apple-infesting host race of R. pomonella formed from hawthorn flies within the last 160 years.</p>
<p>“As the fly shifts and adapts to new host plants, forming new species, the wasps follow their fly hosts and diverge in kind, resulting in a rapid multiplicative increase of diversity as the effects of natural selection cascade through the ecosystem from fly to wasp,” Hood said. “Furthermore, the same physiological and behavioral mechanisms that adapt flies to their respective host plants and reduce gene flow between diverging populations are the same mechanisms that adapt wasps to their respective fly hosts. Biodiversity therefore can beget increasing levels of biodiversity, termed ‘sequential divergence’ or ‘cascading” speciation.’”</p>
<p>Previous research in the Feder lab had documented both genetic signatures of, and the ecological mechanisms promoting, sequential divergence of one wasp species (Diachasma alloeum) attacking Rhagoletis fruit flies. However, Hood wanted to know the frequency at which these sequential divergence events occurred in this system. In other words, how many new species would form in this manner? He began the project back in 2009 when he first joined the Feder lab as a doctoral student. Now, six years later, he finally has the answer: Sequential divergence not just linearly, but multiplicatively, amplifies biodiversity across the food chain for three different wasp species in the parasite community.</p>
<p>The new research has the potential to impact our understanding of evolution. Typically studies of the relationship between ecology and speciation are “one-dimensional within ecosystems,” Hood says. "The focus of attention is largely on how genetic and phenotypic variation within a population is transformed by natural selection to create genetic and/or phenotypic differences between species. The consequences of natural selection are therefore usually confined to their effects within a single species. As a result, we now have a good understanding of how natural selection can generate new species.</p>
<p>“However, environmental adaptation also has potential repercussions for the radiation of entire communities,” Hood says.</p>
<p>“Although conditions might not always be optimal for such cascading divergence to occur, the study is the first to confirm its multiplicative action in nature,” Feder adds. “Thus, even if not overly common, sequential divergence still has the potential to make an important contribution to the genesis of biodiversity and could help to explain things such as the restoration of organismal diversity following mass extinctions</p>
<p>The study can be found here: <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/112/44/E5980.abstract">www.pnas.org/content/112/44/E5980.abstract</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact</strong>: Glen Hood, 574-631-4160, <a href="mailto:ghood@nd.edu">ghood@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by William G. Gilroy at <a href="http://news.nd.edu/news/62448-scientists-detect-wasps-evolving-into-new-species/">news.nd.edu</a> on November 12, 2015.</p>William G. Gilroytag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/623682015-11-10T10:40:00-05:002015-11-10T10:40:29-05:00NDIGD, PAD Project win USAID Development Innovation Ventures award<p class="image-right"><img alt="This paper test card is inexpensive way to distinguish substitutes or diluted drugs from real medicines used to treat common bacterial infections and tuberculosis" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/105062/200x/pad_3_300.jpg" title="This paper test card is inexpensive way to distinguish substitutes or diluted drugs from real medicines used to treat common bacterial infections and tuberculosis" /></p>
<p>The <a href="http://ndigd.nd.edu" title="NDIGD">Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development</a> and <a href="http://news.nd.edu/for-the-media/nd-experts/faculty/marya-lieberman/">Marya Lieberman</a> have won a <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/div"><span class="caps">USAID</span> Development Innovation Ventures</a> award to improve global health. Lieberman, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, will expand her Paper Analytical Device research in Kenya.</p>
<p>Many pharmaceuticals, particularly those purchased in the developing world, are of poor quality or fake. The <a href="http://padproject.nd.edu/" title="PAD">Paper Analytical Device project</a>, supported by the <a href="http://science.nd.edu">College of Science</a> and the <a href="https://globalhealth.nd.edu/">Eck Institute for Global Health</a>, allows users to quickly determine whether a drug tablet contains the correct medicines.</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="This paper test card is inexpensive way to distinguish substitutes or diluted drugs from real medicines used to treat common bacterial infections and tuberculosis" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/105062/pad_3_300.jpg" title="This paper test card is inexpensive way to distinguish substitutes or diluted drugs from real medicines used to treat common bacterial infections and tuberculosis"></p>
<p>The <a href="http://ndigd.nd.edu" title="NDIGD">Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development</a> and <a href="http://news.nd.edu/for-the-media/nd-experts/faculty/marya-lieberman/">Marya Lieberman</a> have won a <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/div"><span class="caps">USAID</span> Development Innovation Ventures</a> award to improve global health. Lieberman, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, will expand her Paper Analytical Device research in Kenya.</p>
<p>Many pharmaceuticals, particularly those purchased in the developing world, are of poor quality or fake. The <a href="http://padproject.nd.edu/">Paper Analytical Device project</a> (<span class="caps">PAD</span>), supported by the <a href="http://science.nd.edu">College of Science</a> and the <a href="https://globalhealth.nd.edu/">Eck Institute for Global Health</a>, allows users to quickly determine whether a drug tablet contains the correct medicines. The <span class="caps">PAD</span> innovations could have a significant impact on the many countries that <span class="caps">USAID</span> serves, including Kenya. PADs are cheap, easy to use and do not require power, chemicals, solvents or any expensive instruments. These factors make them easy to implement in developing countries.</p>
<p>This newest award from <span class="caps">USAID</span> will allow Lieberman and the Purdue University <a href="https://ampath.pharmacy.purdue.edu/">College of Pharmacy <span class="caps">AMPATH</span> program</a> to expand the <span class="caps">PAD</span> Project in Kenya. Over a 12-month period, Lieberman will develop a manufacturing process to scale up making the PADs, and test a cellphone-based image analysis system to make them easier to use. More than a thousand PADs will be used as part of a large-scale post-market surveillance of pharmaceuticals in western Kenya. The surveillance of drug quality will also be integrated into the pharmacovigilance program and the drug purchasing process at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, which is a large purchaser of pharmaceuticals in Kenya. Screening large numbers of medications at different points in the pharmaceutical supply-chain will help the team to uncover falsified products that harm people in Kenya and neighboring countries.</p>
<p><span class="caps">USAID</span> Development Innovation Ventures is an open competition supporting breakthrough solutions to the world’s most intractable development challenges — interventions that could change millions of lives at a fraction of the usual cost.</p>
<p>An integral part of the University of Notre Dame’s <a href="http://keough.nd.edu">Keough School of Global Affairs</a>, <span class="caps">NDIGD</span> works to promote human dignity through global partnerships and applied research, assessment, monitoring, evaluation and training. The Keough School, scheduled to open in August 2017, will prepare students for effective and ethically grounded professional leadership in government, the private sector and global civil society, engaging them in worldwide effort to address the greatest challenges of our century.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact</strong>: Joya Helmuth, <span class="caps">NDIGD</span>, 574-631-9753, <a href="mailto:jhelmuth@nd.edu">jhelmuth@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Meg McDermott</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="http://news.nd.edu/news/62364-ndigd-pad-project-win-usaid-development-innovation-ventures-award/">news.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">November 10, 2015</span>.</p>Meg McDermotttag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/620612015-10-28T09:00:00-04:002015-10-28T09:37:24-04:00Hummon receives ACS Rising Star Award<p class="image-left"><img alt="amanda_hummon_square" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/179858/amanda_hummon_square.jpg" title="amanda_hummon_square" /></p>
<p>Amanda Hummon, the Husking Foundation, Inc. Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received a 2016 Rising Star Award from the American Chemical Society&rsquo;s Women Chemists Committee. Hummon will accept the award at the national American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in San Diego in March.&nbsp;</p><p>Amanda Hummon, the Husking Foundation, Inc. Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received a 2016 Rising Star Award from the American Chemical Society’s Women Chemists Committee. Hummon will accept the award at the national American Chemical Society (<span class="caps">ACS</span>) meeting in San Diego in March. The Rising Star Award recognizes up to ten outstanding women scientists approaching mid-level careers who have demonstrated outstanding promise for contributions to their respective fields.</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="amanda_hummon_1" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/179854/amanda_hummon_1.jpg" title="amanda_hummon_1"></p>
<p>Hummon, who came to Notre Dame in 2009 from the National Cancer Institute, focuses her research on proteomics, mass spectrometry and the molecular changes that underlie the development and progression of colorectal cancer. For the award, she wrote about her lab’s work with three-dimensional cell culture as a rapid and inexpensive way to evaluate new drugs. Hummon’s lab was also the first to demonstrate that the synergistic effects of clustered microRNAs are substantially different than the standard reductionist practice of examining them singly.</p>
<p>At the <span class="caps">ACS</span> spring national meeting, Hummon and four other Rising Star winners will give talks on their research and their careers, including a panel to discuss work-life balance for younger women in science. Hummon was nominated by Mary Prorok, assistant chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and also received endorsement letters from three other leading U.S. chemists.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Gene Stowe</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="http://science.nd.edu/news/61929-hummon-receives-acs-rising-star-award/">science.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">October 21, 2015</span>.</p>Gene Stowetag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/619382015-10-22T10:00:00-04:002015-10-22T10:36:01-04:00AD&T to Host Top Analytical Chemists at Annual Symposium<p>Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics will be hosting its 4th Annual Symposium featuring several of the premier analytical chemists in the country. The Symposium will be held Tuesday, October 27, from 9:00&#8212;5:00. You can visit the Symposium&#8217;s <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/events/2015/10/27/36693-advanced-molecular-imaging-new-insights-for-lab-and-clinic/">event page</a>&#8230;</p><p>Advanced Diagnostics &amp; Therapeutics will be hosting its 4th Annual Symposium featuring several of the premier analytical chemists in the country. The Symposium will be held Tuesday, October 27, from 9:00—5:00. You can visit the Symposium’s <a href="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/events/2015/10/27/36693-advanced-molecular-imaging-new-insights-for-lab-and-clinic/">event page</a> for more information and for an official agenda. </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="image-left"><img alt="sweedler_head_shot" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/179738/square/sweedler_head_shot.jpg" title="sweedler_head_shot"></p>
<p><strong>Jonathan V. Sweedler</strong></p>
<p><em>James R. Eiszner Family Endowed Chair in Chemistry,</em><br>
<em>Director of the School of Chemical Sciences,</em><br>
<em>University of Illinois</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Professor Sweedler holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of California at Davis and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Before serving as a faculty member at the University of Illinois, Sweedler was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of <em>Analytical Chemistry</em>, and the <em>Analytical Scientist</em> has named him one of the 100 most influential people in the analytical sciences.</p>
<p>Professor Sweedler’s research interests are in bioanalytical chemistry, where he focuses on new methods for assaying nanoliter-volume samples and applying those techniques to characterize the molecular forms, distribution, and dynamic release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides from a variety of animal models. Currently, Professor Sweedler collaborates with Professor Paul Bohn, Director of AD&amp;T and Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemistry at the University of Notre Dame, to address the complex challenges of correlated chemical imaging. This research allows for the discovery of complex chemical behaviors unobservable through single imaging methods, greatly increasing the ability to gather information in imaging experiments. </p>
<p>Professor Sweedler has attained many notable awards, including the ANACHEM Award–presented to an outstanding analytical chemist based on activities in teaching, research, administration or other activity which has advanced the art and science of the field; the Analytical Chemistry Award; and the Award for Outsanding Achievements in the Fields of Analytical Chemistry from the Eastern Analytical Symposium.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="image-left"><img alt="emily_smith_headshot" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/179740/square/emily_smith_headshot.jpg" title="emily_smith_headshot"></p>
<p><strong>Emily A. Smith</strong></p>
<p><em>Faculty Scientist, the Ames Library;</em><br>
<em>Associate Professor,</em><br>
<em>Iowa State University</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Professor Smith joined the faculty of Iowa State University in 2006 after completing two postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Delaware and the University of Arizona. She holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Northwestern University, an M.S. in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Professor Smith’s research interests include developing imaging instrumentation and methods to study enzymatic catalysis, polymer films, and the cell membrane. The application of these interests lies in the development of improved biofuels and energy storage and capture devices. Professor Smith also currently holds a patent for Fusion Protein Arrays on Metal Substrates for Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging.</p>
<p>Professor Smith has received several awards, including the Wilkinson Teaching Award from the Department of Chemistry at Iowa State University; the National Science Foundation CAREER Award; the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh/spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh Start Award; and the Slifkin Excellences Award for Outstanding Accomplishment from the University of Wisconsin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="image-left"><img alt="mitch_doktycz_lab_pic" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/179739/square/mitch_doktycz_lab_pic.jpg" title="mitch_doktycz_lab_pic"></p>
<p><strong>Mitchel J. Doktycz</strong></p>
<p><em>Biological and Nanoscale Systems</em><br>
<em>BioSciences Division</em><br>
<em>Oak Ridge National Laboratory</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dr. Doktycz is a Distinguished Staff Scientist and Leader of the Biological and Nanoscale Systems Group in the Biosciences Division at the oak Ridge National Laboratory. Along with being a member of the Research Staff at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Dr. Doktycz is also the Laboratory Research Manager for the Plant-Microbe Interfaces Scientific Focus Area. He has joint appointments with the University of Tennessee’s Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology and the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education.</p>
<p>Dr. Doktycz’s research interests lie in the areas of imaging, nanotechnology, microarray, and high throughput technology.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="image-left"><img alt="keith_carron_profile" src="http://advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu/assets/179742/square/keith_carron_profile.jpg" title="keith_carron_profile"></p>
<p><strong>Keith T. Carron</strong></p>
<p><em>CEO</em><br>
<em>Snowy Range Instruments;</em><br>
<em>Professor Emeritus</em><br>
<em>University of Wyoming</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Professor Carron is a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry with over 30 years’ experience in Raman spectroscopy (both linear and nonlinear) with a specialty in surface-enhanced Raman scattering and affinity coatings for specific analytes. His specialties also include SERS, optical instrument design, and small business entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>Professor Carron holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph. D. in Chemistry from Northwestern University. Professor Carron has won several awards, including the Tibbets Award for visible technological impact on the socio-economic front and the Pioneer in Chemistry Award.</p>
<p>Professor Carron is well respected for his innovations in chemical imaging instrumentation. He is the founder and former CEO (until 2009) of DeltaNu. In 2009 Professor Carron founded Snowy Range Instruments, where he is the current CEO. </p>Melissa Endrestag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/615822015-10-07T09:00:00-04:002015-10-07T09:27:03-04:00Building Bridges in Cancer Research<p>Dr. Jeremiah Zartman, considered an Engineer/Biologist hybrid, has been at the University of Notre Dame for 3 1/2 years and is currently teaching Introduction to Bioengineering and Introduction to Cell Tissue. He is a perfect model for when describing the mission of the Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI). Zartman is a strong believer in the power of collaboration and the impact it has on cancer research. <a href="http://harpercancer.nd.edu/news/61543-faculty-feature-dr-jeremy-zartman/">Read more...</a></p><p><strong>Faculty Feature</strong><br>
<strong>Dr. Jeremiah Zartman|September 2015</strong></p>
<p>Dr. Jeremiah Zartman, considered an Engineer/Biologist hybrid, has been at the University of Notre Dame for 3 1/2 years and is currently teaching Introduction to Bioengineering and Introduction to Cell Tissue. He is a perfect model for when describing the mission of the Harper Cancer Research Institute (<span class="caps">HCRI</span>). Zartman is a strong believer in the power of collaboration and the impact it has on cancer research.</p>
<p class="image-right"><img alt="zartman9978_1_" src="http://harpercancer.nd.edu/assets/177915/zartman9978_1_.jpg" title="zartman9978_1_"></p>
<p>Dr. Zartman and his lab are interested in the growth control of cells. Through model <em>Drosophila (</em>fruit flies), they focus on how cells make the decision to grow or not to grow while they’re in the tissue. Fruit flies have been used for research for many years due to the easily manipulated genetics. Many tumor suppressor genes have been discovered in flies. “We use cancer genetics which incorporates genetic model systems where we create cancer. Then we can feed the fruit fly with compounds (drugs) that affect the genetics inside and outside of the tumor. This will confirm whether the compound increases or decreases tumor growth. We use this as a screening process for researchers such as Dr. Brandon Ashfeld in Chemistry [at Notre Dame] to screen the therapies being produced. We also work with Dr. Siyuan Zhang at <span class="caps">HCRI</span>, we can help him quickly regulate the cancer genes by making them more or less abundant in the cell and see how that effects tumor growth. If it does effect tumor growth, this can lead to a new target for chemists to focus on creating a new drug.” Other active collaborations related to cancer research include interactions with Dr. David Hoelzle (<span class="caps">AME</span>), Dr. Pinar Zorlutuna (<span class="caps">AME</span>), Dr. Mark Alber and Zhiliang Xu (in <span class="caps">ACMS</span>) and Dr. Jeni Prosperi (Harper).</p>
<p>Zartman also conducts experiments in cell communications. He investigates how cells interact with one another. For example: if you have two groups of cells, growing at different rates, they will communicate with each other. One group of normal cells typically tries to eliminate the second group of abnormal cells. This is our body’s defensive mechanism against cells that might become cancerous. “We’re trying to learn if the cells are communicating with one another at large distances. If we can understand the communication between cells, we can learn how to manipulate their communication. When we create tumors, does that communication break down or change? We now have the tools to record conversations between cells.”</p>
<p>By creating bridges connecting faculty in various departments, Zartman is better able to create cancer within the larva, learn how cells are communicating when cancer is present, and are able to develop mathematical models for the mechanics and communications of the cells. “We need to collaborate to move science forward, we have to bring in the experts from multiple disciplines to fully define and conquer cancer.” </p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Jenna Bilinski</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="http://harpercancer.nd.edu/news/61543-faculty-feature-dr-jeremy-zartman/">harpercancer.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">October 05, 2015</span>.</p>Jenna Bilinskitag:advanceddiagnostics.nd.edu,2005:News/615832015-10-07T09:00:00-04:002015-10-07T09:28:04-04:00Record highs for Notre Dame research funding<p class="image-left"><img alt="Rad Lab" src="http://science.nd.edu/assets/131921/radiationlab.jpg" title="Rad Lab" /></p>
<p>The University of Notre Dame has received $133.7 million in research funding for fiscal year 2015. This is an all-time record for the University and $20 million more than last year.</p><p class="image-right"><img alt="CEES Professor Amy Hixon works with an undergraduate researcher in her Stinson-Remick lab" src="http://news.nd.edu/assets/175504/2014_ceees_300.jpg" title="CEES Professor Amy Hixon works with an undergraduate researcher in her Stinson-Remick lab"></p>
<p>The University of Notre Dame has received $133.7 million in research funding for fiscal year 2015. This is an all-time record for the University and $20 million more than last year.</p>
<p>“Our ongoing growth as a preeminent research university is being realized and recognized in many important ways — through projects and products that are making a real difference in the world, honors won by our faculty and the steady annual increases in funding from government agencies and other sponsors,” said <a href="http://president.nd.edu">Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.</a>, Notre Dame’s president. “This past year’s record-breaking total is a testament to the outstanding work being done by faculty across campus, as well as the support they are receiving from Bob Bernhard and his team in <a href="http://research.nd.edu/">Notre Dame Research</a>.”</p>
<p>Approximately 71.27 percent of all successful proposals came from federal funding, while 24.27 percent were from foundations and other sponsors and 4.46 percent from industrial sponsors. Among some of the largest awards:</p>
<ul>
<li>More than $6 million from the Microelectronics Advanced Research Corp. and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (<span class="caps">DARPA</span>) for continued support of the <a href="https://least.nd.edu/">Center for Low Energy Systems Technology</a> (<span class="caps">LEAST</span>), which is directed by professor <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/profiles/aseabaugh">Alan Seabaugh</a>.</li>
<li>A $2.4 million grant to professor <a href="http://mendoza.nd.edu/research-and-faculty/directory/matt-bloom/">Matt Bloom</a> of the <a href="http://mendoza.nd.edu/">Mendoza College of Business</a> to study faith and flourishing at work from the Templeton Religion Trust.</li>
<li>A $1.78 million award from the John Templeton Foundation to professors <a href="http://theology.nd.edu/people/faculty/celia-deane-drummond/">Celia Deane-Drummond</a> and <a href="http://anthropology.nd.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-by-alpha/agustin-fuentes/">Agustín Fuentes</a> from the Departments of Theology and Anthropology, respectively, to research human distinctiveness, including an associated summer seminar for theologians in evolutionary anthropology.</li>
<li>More than $6.6 million from the Department of Energy to professor <a href="http://chemistry.nd.edu/people/ian-carmichael/">Ian Carmichael</a> in the <a href="http://rad.nd.edu/">Radiation Laboratory</a> for continued research into radiation chemistry and photochemistry in the condensed phase and at interfaces. This project has been awarded more than $51 million since the current phase began in 2004.</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition to these awards and others from the Colleges of <a href="http://al.nd.edu">Arts and Letters</a>, <a href="http://business.nd.edu">Business</a>, <a href="http://engineering.nd.edu">Engineering</a> and <a href="http://science.nd.edu">Science</a>, faculty from the <a href="http://architecture.nd.edu">School of Architecture</a>, the forthcoming <a href="http://keough.nd.edu">Keough School of Global Affairs</a> and the <a href="http://law.nd.edu">Law School</a> contributed to the total as well.</p>
<p>Speaking about the record funding, <a href="https://www.nd.edu/about/leadership/council/robert-bernhard/">Robert J. Bernhard</a>, vice president for research, said, “The growth trajectory of research at Notre Dame is a direct result of the hard work and talent of our faculty. Together with their progressive vision for research at the University and unending search for meaning, truth and original discovery, Notre Dame Research continues to grow and develop as a force for good.”</p>
<p>For more information, visit <a href="http://research.nd.edu/">research.nd.edu</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/UNDResearch">@UNDResearch</a>.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Joanne Fahey</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="http://news.nd.edu/news/60951-record-highs-for-notre-dame-research-funding/">news.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">September 16, 2015</span>.</p>Joanne Fahey